In the current information age, it has often been discussed that proliferation of information technology (IT) can lead to a paperless society, as well as more convenience, efficiency, productivity, enjoyment, etc., in life. The extensive use and development of IT facilities in an enterprise (or other organization) environment, as well as in a home environment, have been accompanied by escalating accumulations of electronic data, as well as communications of such data from one person or organization to another person or organization, from one place to another place, etc. Nothwithstanding such trends in practice, many people still rely on hardcopy documents for assorted reasons.
All of the above-mentioned factors (as well as others) contribute to the recent popularity of multi-function devices (MFP or MFD) which typically provide a user with assorted functionalities, such as scanning, copying, printing, document storage and retrieval, format conversion, facsimile, network and other communications, etc. MFDs allow users to convert information from paper (or other non-electronic) media to electronic media, and then communicate the electronic data via one or more communication media (for example, by scan-to-email, etc.) or store the data on one or more storage media (for example, by scan-to-FTP, scan-to-disk, etc.). Further, a MFD typically is configured to handle large quantities of paper and information at a high rate, in contrast to the typical standalone scanner.
The increasing use of MFDs, similar to use of many other IT tools that are accompanied by availability of large volumes of attendant electronic data, raises security concerns. The typical MFD is a kind of computer workstation including a CPU, memory, hard disk, application software running on an operating system, etc., and connected to a network environment. Therefore, a MFD, like other computers, can be susceptible to computer viruses, malicious activities and other security threats. Thus, advantages to a user from use of the MFD can be negated, at least at times and in part, by security concerns which can increase with escalating use.
There is a need to provide organizations and/or users who utilize a MFD with assurance that the data accompanying their use will not be corrupted and/or compromised by one or more security threats to or on the MFD.